Photo by kalhh from Pixabay
Florida weather can be a terrible thing to behold. Violent thunderstorms are the cost of enjoying Florida’s sunny, beautiful days. Each year, tropical storms and hurricanes move inland on Ocala, and just north of us, we’ve seen an increase in violent tornadoes over the last decade.
Once violent weather comes calling, the best you can do is react with heart and consideration. Here are our tips for what to do in the very worst Ocala weather:
Hard Rain - when the rain comes down so much that your windshield wipers can’t remove it, the strategy is to stop driving, as you can’t predict the road ahead of you. Turn your hazard lights on, pull over to the shoulder until you are 100% off of the road, and wait out the storm. Let it pass over and move on before you begin driving again. If you can find shelter, see it, but beware of stopping underneath overpasses, as other cars might get the same idea and not see you in time.
Hail Storm - the big temptation in a hail storm is likely to find shelter to protect your vehicle. But that means that the hail striking your car adds your car’s velocity to the speed at which it is coming down. A good way to seriously damage a vehicle is to drive through a hail storm at high speed. Pull your car over and wait.
Thunderstorm - as long as you have a hardtop, you are likely safe to wait out a violent thunderstorm in your car. Lightning can be destructive to your car, but your vehicle’s rubber wheels should keep you grounded.
Hurricane - a hurricane adds all the troubles of the first two with wind sheer and flooding that can potentially kill you. Get yourself to higher ground, if that’s possible, and seek shelter.
Tornado - a car is one of the most dangerous places to be in a tornado because flying objects can shatter your windshield and cut you to ribbons. Underpasses are not safe, as the high winds surrounding tornadoes speed up as they make their way through an underpass due to the resistance of the overpass. Find shelter off the highway.
PALS Ocala has been a longtime partner with Meadowbrook Church and its ministry. They do enormous good for Ocala, and we recommend them for this reason if you want to give charitable support to an organization this year.
Time for the monthly events list!
Sunday, DOGust 1st
Universal Birthday for Shelter Dogs
Sunday, August 15th
National Relaxation Day
Tuesday, August 17th
National Black Cat Appreciation Day
Wednesday, August 18th
Ashura
Friday, August 20th
National Lemonade Day
Ocala Polo Arena League Summer Matches
7:00 PM, Tamarian Farms Equestrian Center
Join us at the beautiful Tamarians Farms as they host our summer series of the Arena Polo League!
Sunday, August 22nd
Onam
Thursday, August 26th
National Dog Day
Lunch with the Archaeologist
11:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Fort King National Historic Landmark
Please bring a lawn chair, pack a lunch and join us for Lunch with the Archaeologist! We will be talking about Fort King and the artifacts found on site during this monthly series and having a Q&A time with the archaeologists.
Monday, August 30th
National Beach Day
That’s all for this month’s events. Thanks again for checking out our blog-- be sure to stay safe in the summer storms! And remember to schedule an appointment online and let Pals Ocala Auto Repair take care of you. We are located at 2821 SW College Road, Ocala, FL, 34474. Until next time!